The invention relates to a decorated natural or artificial pearl having an integrated ornamental element, and a method of manufacturing same. As ornamental elements, in particular semi-precious or precious stones are provided; parts formed from other materials, for example wood, glass, acrylic glass, inter alia, also come into consideration however.
Pearls from oysters have been from time immemorial a beloved and desired type of jewellery and since the beginning of pearl cultivation approximately 100 years ago an independent pearl market has developed which plays an important role in the jewellery industry. Amongst pearls those which have an ideal or almost ideal spherical shape and a uniformly formed spherical surface have always been preferred and consequently traded most.
In pearl cultivation and also in nature, however, it frequently happens that the pearl has a so-called xe2x80x9copen placexe2x80x9d. This means: the seed which the cultivator has inserted into the oyster or which has reached it in the natural manner is not uniformly covered with mother-of-pearl by the oyster but at one or more places no mother-of-pearl at all or only a relatively very thin layer of same is deposited, such that more or less deep pits of the most varied shape and extent have arisen. These xe2x80x9cimperfectxe2x80x9d xe2x80x9copen placesxe2x80x9d on pearls count generally as a defect and considerably lessen the quality and thus the market value of the affected pearls.
It is admittedly generally known that a natural or artificial pearl can be provided with a through-bore or a blind end bore in order to draw it up on a thread and thus manufacture for example necklaces or bracelets, or in order to place it on a pin and secure it thus for example to rings, decorative pins and other jewellery bases. These bores are however in many if not even most cases not suitable for concealing xe2x80x9copen placesxe2x80x9d, solely for the reason that the relevant xe2x80x9copen placexe2x80x9d has too great a diameter and/or the affected pearl has a plurality of xe2x80x9copen placesxe2x80x9d which do not lie (by chance) on a line through the pearl centre.
The use of pearls is varied and includes also the combination of pearl(s) with precious stone(s). With such combinations it is generally a question of additions, i.e. a side-by-side arrangement of pearl(s) and stone(s), pearl(s) and stone(s) respectively representing separate, independent components of a brooch, a necklace, a bracelet, ring or some other piece of jewellery.
Up to present only one type of integrated combination of pearl and precious stone has been known. In this so-called xe2x80x9cdecorated pearlxe2x80x9d the pearl is provided with a blind end bore running radially and a precious stone mounted in metal is cemented into this bore. The blind end bore has a round cross-section which is substantially smaller than half the diameter of the pearl and the shape of the precious stone or its mount is inevitably closely adapted thereto in terms of size and contour. DE 44 06 609 describes such a decorated natural or artificial pearl in which an ornamental element is introduced into a blind hole. The limited dimensions of the recess, here a bore, are considered as important in order not to impair the stability of the pearl.
The object underlying the invention is now to make available a decorated natural or artificial pearl having an integrated semi-precious or precious stone or ornamental elements formed from other materials or respectively a decoration for pearls, more especially for pearls with xe2x80x9copen placesxe2x80x9d and a method of manufacturing decorated pearls of this type, the decoration taking up regions of any size of the pearl surface and the spherical surface being able to be designed in any way.
This object is achieved in the provision of a natural or artificial pearl of the type mentioned initially in which one or more ornamental elements is (are) configured as an inlay with or without a mount, the outer, visible upper or ornamental side, remote from the pearl, of each inlay having a horizontal projection of any contour and dimensions within the limits of the spherical surface, and the inner underside, facing the pearl, of each inlay being provided with at least one locking and/or anchoring means. Each inlay is accommodated as a form-fit or at least substantially as a form-fit in a recess (depression, pit) appropriately made for it, in the base and/or wall of which locking and/or anchoring means are formed which co-operate with those of the inlay, preferably by positive locking according to the key-lock principle, and in or respectively on which the inlay sitting in the recess is secured in or on the pearl.
The recess(es) can be relatively flat and lie only in the outer (peripheral) spherical layers (mother-of-pearl layers) of the pearl. It is equally possible to configure one recess, a plurality of or all the recesses in the shape of a wedge, cone or tetrahedron, the tip of the wedge, cone or tetrahedron pointing in each case to the pearl seed or pearl centre.
The term xe2x80x9cbase of the recessxe2x80x9d comprises here and below not only more or less flat surfacesxe2x80x94such as are present for example in cuboid recessesxe2x80x94but also inner edgesxe2x80x94e.g. in the case of wedgexe2x80x94or notch-shaped recesses, or also inner tipsxe2x80x94e.g. in the case of recesses shaped like a pointed cone.
A preferred embodiment of the pearl according to the invention, which is particularly easy to manufacture, is characterized in that the locking or anchoring means is formed on the underside of the inlay- as a projection(projections), more especially as a wedge (wedges), pin (pins), lug (lugs) or feather (feathers), and in that the locking and/or anchoring means complementary thereto are realized as depressions, especially as grooves or tubular (blind) hole(s) on the base and/or in the wall of the recess in the pearl.
In a variant of the invention having at least two inlays, provision is made for the pearl surface to have at least two recesses each having respectively one tubular hole as a locking or anchoring means, which recesses are disposed spatially in relation to one another in such a manner that the at least one hole at the base of the one recess forms with the at least one hole at the base of the other recess axe2x80x94preferably practically rectilinearxe2x80x94tubular passage between the two recesses. The inlays provided for this purpose have complementary connecting means to one another as locking and/or anchoring means, pin-shaped anchoring means which are designed as connecting means complementary to one another, preferably on the one hand as a threaded pin (solid or hollow pin with external thread) and on the other hand as the complementary threaded sleeve (hollow pin with correspondingly complementary inner thread). When the inlays concerned sit in the recesses, these connecting means are inserted in the tubular passage and are connected to one another therexe2x80x94in the case of threaded pin and threaded sleeve, screwed to one another. Thus particularly stable anchoring of the inlay on the pearl is guaranteed.
In a special development of this variant of the invention, the recess for the one inlay is extended like a cavity tangentially and radially below the pearl surface, and the cavity walls pointing away from the interior of the pearl are provided with window-like hole apertures, so-called window openings, in whichxe2x80x94preferably unmountedxe2x80x94ornamental elements sit. These ornamental elements have the shape of a pyramid or (truncated) cone and are oriented in the window openings in such a way that the base of the pyramid or (truncated) cone points towards the interior of the pearl. By jamming and/or supporting one another and/or being supported on the cavity walls and/or the inlay sitting in the recess/the two recess(es), the position of these ornamental elements in the window openings is fixed.
A further way of accomplishing the object set consists in the provision of a pearl of the type mentioned initially in which the pearl consists of two or more spherical portions, between which respectively at least one disc-shaped ornamental element is disposed, the two disc surfaces of which are preferably congruent with the respectively adjoining (disc-shaped) basal surface of the respective spherical portion. According to the invention, there is formed in each spherical section and in each disc-shaped ornamental element a through-bore which runs perpendicular to the basal surfaces of the spherical portions and of the disc-shaped ornamental element or elements and preferably through the respective centre of same, and is flush with the through-bore(s) of the adjoining spherical portion/portions or respectively disc-shaped ornamental element/elements. In the through-bore of each spherical portion is respectively fixed a portion or section (end section or end piece or intermediate section or intermediate piece) of an outer sleeve which represents the functional counterpart to an inner sleeve, namely in such a way that inner sleeve and outer sleeve can be positioned secure against twisting in respect of one another via means which are formed between the inner sleeve outer wall and the outer sleeve inner wall. In other words the inner sleeve can only be pushed into the outer sleeve in a single orientation in respect of same. In the outer sleeve portions and the through-bores of the disc-shaped ornamental element/elements is guided the inner sleeve representing the counterpart to the outer sleeve, such that the spherical portions are disposed in an exactly pre-determined position in relation to one another and fixed there. The inner sleeve isxe2x80x94preferably at least at its two free endsxe2x80x94connected to the outer sleeve so as to be secure against axial displacementxe2x80x94preferably with the two end faces of the outer sleeve (portions) ending at the pearl spherical surface (of the two calorie shells).
The advantage of the natural or artificial pearl according to the invention consists in the fact that the ornamental element is integrated without a mount into the pearl or its surface, and mother-of-pearl and ornamental element material, for example precious stone, lie directly beside one another practically seamlesslyxe2x80x94just as if this combination had grown in a natural manner.
A variant of this decorated natural or artificial pearl having apparently seamlessly integrated ornamental elements without any visible mount is characterized in that in at least one spherical portion at least one window-like hole, i.e. a so-called xe2x80x9cwindow openingxe2x80x9d is formed in which an inlay in the shape of a pyramid or cone is disposed, the horizontal projection of which corresponds to that of the window opening and the thicker pyramid or cone base end faces the pearl interior and is supported on the pearl seed located there.
Through the pyramid or cone shape of the relevant inlay and its positioning with the thicker pyramid or cone base in the pearl interior, the optical impression is created that the pearl has inclusions which continue into the interior of the pearl or even make up the whole pearl seed.
The subject matter of the present invention. is furthermore a method of manufacturing a decorated or artificial pearl which comprises the following steps:
the natural or artificial pearl is provided with an incision,
a depression is introduced into the natural or artificial pearl, the depression produced being located on the base or the wall of the pearl incision,
the ornamental element is fitted into the incision,
the ornamental element is secured in the pearl incision, the depression serving to anchor an anchoring means which is secured to the ornamental element,
the ornamental element is ground following the pearl surface or adapted in some other way known to the expert to follow the pearl surface, the surface of the ornamental element being integrated into the surface of the pearl.
By preference the natural or artificial pearl is first cut into and then the depression is applied to the base or the wall of the pearl incision. The depression can for example be introduced by boring or milling. The incision is preferably made with a cutting wheel, for example with a cutting wheel set with diamonds. If necessary, the incision can be further processed, for example with a diamond file. What is important is that the edges of the incision remain as smooth as possible. The angle of the pearl incision is preferably between 90 and 60xc2x0. The recess which is produced by the pearl incision can assume various shapes. It can be in the shape of a wedge, cone or tetrahedron, the tip of the wedge, cone or tetrahedron in each case pointing towards the pearl seed; it is also possible for these tips to point towards the pearl centre. The recess can be flat or deep. The depression produced can be for example a groove or a tubular blind hole which can be recessed further if necessary. However it is not limited to the embodiments mentioned; rather, the depression can assume any of the shapes known to the expert in order to be able to accommodate corresponding anchoring means. In a preferred embodiment the depression is a blind hole which is produced by a bore. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, instead of working step c), a stone mount is fitted exactly into the pearl incision such that the anchoring means which is secured both to the stone mount and to the ornamental element is fitted into the depression or into the bore and then the ornamental element is fitted into the mount. In this variant of the method, in which the ornamental element with the mount is introduced into the pearl, in method step d) the ornamental element in the stone mount is secured in the pearl incision, the depression or the bore serving to anchor an anchoring means which is secured to the ornamental element and the stone mount. The ornamental element with or without mount can, in addition to being secured by the anchoring means, also be secured by adhesive, e.g. cement, to the pearl. The pearl incision is preferably almost completely filled by the ornamental element with or without the mount. The ornamental element is now adapted to follow the pearl surface, for example by grinding. If the ornamental element sits in a mount and the mount has not yet been adapted to the surface, the ornamental element can be ground together with the mount in one working step to follow the pearl surface. This working step requires extraordinary care since the sensitive surface of the pearl must not be damaged. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the method, one or more locking bores are applied to the stone mount and the ornamental element to accommodate a portion of the anchoring means, the locking bores in the ornamental element and in the mount matching one another exactly and another portion of the anchoring means being anchored in the depression or in the bore of the pearl incision.
Particularly preferred according to the method according to the invention is the use of an anchoring pin as the anchoring means. It is particularly advantageous if the anchoring means grips through the locking holes of the stone mount into the locking holes of the ornamental element like a clasp. The locking of the stone is effected when stone, stone mount and anchoring means are secured in the pearl. Furthermore it is advantageous if the anchoring pin when inserted also exerts pressure on the depression or on the bore of the pearl incision, which serves to anchor the stone and stone mount in the pearl incision.
Variants of the method described above are also the subject matter of the present invention. For example the ornamental element can be secured in the pearl incision by more than one anchoring means. Correspondingly, proceeding from the pearl -incision a plurality of depressions can be provided in which anchoring means are anchored. Furthermore a plurality of gemstones with or without a mount can be incorporated in one pearl. These ornamental elements can be connected to one another by securing or anchoring, or can also be secured independently of one another in the respective pearl incision or the recess. Different ornamental elements can be introduced in a sub-divided mount into a pearl incision.
The subject matter of the present invention is furthermore an anchoring pin for anchoring gemstones in pearl incisions. The pin is configured by means of a resilient mechanism as a clip, stopper or locking device in order to hold the ornamental element and/or stone mount, pressure being exerted on the anchoring depression or on the anchoring bore after the pin has been inserted with the ornamental element and/or stone mount into the pearl incision. The anchoring pin is preferably so constructed that when it is inserted into the anchoring depression it is clamped, squeezed, pressed, blocked. As a further variant it is possible for the anchoring pin to be glued or cemented in addition during this process. The pin can alternatively also be soldered securely to the mount. In the latter case the upper part of the pin does not necessarily act as a clasp which grips in the locking holes of the stone or of the mount, the stone is then held in the mount by other means. For example an additional small pin can grip through the mount into the locking bores. However other means known to the expert can also be used to hold the stone in the mount.
In particular through the construction of the pin it is guaranteed that the anchoring of the ornamental element is locally separated from the actual pearl incision. This means, even if the pearl incision itself is relatively flat, the anchoring portion of the pin preferably extends into the vicinity of the seed or by particular preference into the seed of the pearl. With incisions which extend very deep on or even into the pearl seed, the spacing between the portion which holds the stone and the portion which guarantees the anchoring of the gemstone in the pearl is naturally reduced.
The use of the anchoring pin according to the invention is not limited to the manufacture of the pearl according to the invention but is also advantageous in the anchoring of mounts or stones in blind holes. The previously used anchoring means for stones in pearls do not have any local separation between the place at which the ornamental element itself is applied to the pearl and the place in which the ornamental element is anchored.
A possible embodiment of the anchoring pin according to the invention is shown in FIG. 28. The pin shown has along the longitudinal axis of the pin a cut which is smaller than the longitudinal axis of the pin. A portion of the pin is configured as a type of clasp in order to hold the ornamental element and/or stone mount, and after the pin has been inserted with the ornamental element and/or stone mount into the pearl incision, pressure is exerted on the anchoring depression. The subject matter of the invention is also the use of the above-described anchoring pin to anchor gemstones in pearls.
Naturally the ornamental element can also be anchored with other means known to the expert.
After the pearl incision has been cut, it can be enlarged and thus the pearl recessed more. Thus in a variant of the decorated natural or artificial pearl according to the invention, the original pearl seed can be partially or completely removed. In addition to the pearl incision originally applied, at least one window-like hole, a so-called xe2x80x9cwindow openingxe2x80x9d is applied. Into this window opening is inserted a pyramid- or cone-shaped inlay, the horizontal projection of which corresponds to that of the window aperture, in such a way that the thicker pyramid or cone base end points towards the pearl interior. Then the pearl seed is restored or a new pearl seed (in the place of the old one) inserted into the pearl. This new seed is preferably provided with a through-bore for the inner sleeve. The outer shape and dimensions of the renewed seed is preferably to be chosen in such a way that the pyramid or cone base of each inlay can rest thereon and the inlay fits securely self-locking in the relevant window opening.
The object of the invention is furthermore accomplished also with a further variant of the method for decorating pearls, which is characterized by the following measures:
first of all a pearl is provided with a through-bore and an outer sleeve is inserted into this through-bore which represents the functional counterpart of an inner sleeve, specifically in such a way that inner sleeve and outer sleeve can be positioned secure against twisting in relation to one another via means which are formed between inner sleeve outer wall and outer sleeve inner wall, i.e. can be pushed or guided into one another only in one orientation in respect of one another. Then the pearl is divided, perpendicular to the through-bore and the outer sleeve guided therein, into two or more spherical portions with an outer sleeve portion lying therein. Between respectively two originally adjacent spherical portions is positioned respectively at least one disc-shaped ornamental element which is provided perpendicular to its disc surface and preferably centrally with a through-bore, specifically in such a way that the through-bore of each disc-shaped ornamental element is flush with the through-bores or the outer sleeve portions of the spherical portions lying therein and forms a tubular channel. Then a or the inner sleeve, which represents the functional counterpart to the outer sleeve (portions) guided in the through-bores of the spherical portions, is introduced into this tubular channel, the individual spherical portionsxe2x80x94as a result of the positioning of the inner sleeve in relation to the outer sleeve secure against twistingxe2x80x94assuming their original natural spatial orientation to one another again. In order to fix the spherical portions and the disc-shaped ornamental elements also secure against axial displacement, inner sleeve and outer sleeve are connected to one another. Here a method variant is preferred in which the inner sleeve is connected at its two free ends with the end faces of the outer sleeve (portions) ending on the pearl spherical surface (of the two calorie shells)xe2x80x94in the case of metal sleeves, for example, riveted.
A variant of this method which is particularly suitable for manufacturing a decorated pearl which has unmounted window- and belt-shaped inlays, is characterized in that in at least one of the spherical portions, the original pearl seed is completely or partially removed and thus a spherical half shell is formed. Then at least one window-like hole, a so-called xe2x80x9cwindow openingxe2x80x9d is incorporated in this spherical half shell. Into this window opening is inserted a pyramid- or cone-shaped inlay, the horizontal projection of which corresponds to that of the window opening, in such a way that the thicker pyramid or cone base end points towards the pearl interior. Then the pearl seed is restored or a new seed is inserted (in the place of the old one) into the spherical half shell(s) and provided with a through-bore for the inner sleeve. The outer shape and dimensions of the renewed seed is to be selected such that the pyramid or cone base of each inlay can be supported thereon and the inlay sits securely self-locking in the respective window opening.